Rebuilt Anew: ASP Youth Mission Trip
June 29, 2023 | Written by Kylie Young.
Being on this mission trip has altered my perspective on many things. Two of which are:
- what it means to truly have a personal and spiritual relationship with the land and area around you, and,
- what it means to grow up in a place that is so rural and apart from what seems like the rest of the country.
When I get home, I am certain that I will look at my community and hometown with a different view.
I grew up in a semi-rural part of Bedford, Virginia, which is what I thought to be almost as “Appalachian” as it gets. But I change my mind. People take for granted how lucky they are to be in a place that hasn’t been abandoned by coal companies after years of mining the land. The surrounding area seems as if it is “dead” compared to Roanoke. However, the community pulls together and its people are truly dedicated to one another, like family.
I want to treat my neighbor with love and share a better relationship with the nature around me.
Our homeowner has lived in the same property her entire life, and has even laid her mother and uncle to rest on that same property—literally 20 yards up the hill between her house and her brother’s. Her family lives around her, and I can really see that they all appreciate and care for one another. It’s clear that her “home” isn’t just the house that she lives in but the people and nature surrounding her.
I watch as our group of faithful workers restore the house of a woman who has been through so much, and my heart feels full seeing what we can do for her. As we replace the rotted floors in her kitchen, I sense God’s grace do the same in me. As we screw sheathing on the side of the house, my soul is being rebuilt anew and my view on life is changing.
